Improvement in hinges



dnitcd estates ABRAHAM HUFFER, OF HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND.

Letters Patent No. 108,143, dated October 1'1, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN HINGES The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patentrand making part or' the same.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM Hnnnnn, of Hagerstown, in the county of Washington, and State of Maryland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hinges, of whichthe following is a speciication.

Nature of the Invention.

This hinge is an improvement on that patented to myself and Nathaniel Schuer, July 4, 1865.

The present invention consists in an improved form of the eccentric, whereby it is more easily inserted in place, and in an improved construction of the leaf for holding the spring, as hereinafter described.

General Description.

ln the drawing- Figure lis a perspective view of my hinge, complete;

Figure 2, a view ofthe swinging portion of the hinge Figure 3, a diagram, showing the method of inserting the eccentric in place;

Figure 4,21. view of a modification of the form of of the leat| of the stationary portion of the hinge; and

Figure 5, a diagram of the old form of the hinge, and representing, in contrast with my present improvement, the diiculty of inserting the eccentric.

A is the stationary or pintle part of the hinge, and

B, the swinging or socket part.

The stationary part has 'a spring, U, composed, preferably, of several layers of sheet steel, riveted to the leaf, as shown.

The swinging part has an eccentric, D, outside the socket or eye, against which the spring presses.

The faces or bearings of this eccentric are so situated that the blind, shutter, or other body attached, may be held stationary in three positions, viz., open, half open, or shut. Thus far the construction is the same as in the patent of 1865, before alluded to.

IVe found in the use of the old hinge two radical diiiiculties; `first, the considerable thickness or projection ot' the eccentric, and its abrupt shoulder a at l(he bottom, caused it to sit considerably over the plane of the spring, as shown in fig. 5.

In applying in place, the eccentric can .be inserted in but one position, viz., at the half-open position of the blind or shutter; hence, in order to depress or bend the spring backward far enough to enter the eccentric between it and the pintle p, it was necessary to use a lever or pry, and then insert a wedge to hold till the eccentric was in place. This was so diiiicult for workmen to do that they would not adopt it.

In my present case, I remedy this diliiculty by casting the eccentric thinner, and forming at the bottom a shear or wedge-shaped edge, l1, fig. 3, which, when the eccentric is pressed down in place between the spring andthe pintle, opens its own way, and gradually forces the spring outward without diculty.

Indeed, with a blind or shutter attached, there is no more ditiiculty than in inserting the parts of a common hinge. This device, combined with the eccentric and spring, I claim as the first feature of my improvement.

The second diiculty was that, in rivet-ing the spring at c c to the leaf, so near the screw-holes d d, the leaf was very liable to break under,y the strain; also, the workmen, in cutting the mortise inthe wood, to receive the leaf and the thickness of the spring, would make no allowance for the bend or yield of the spring backward in the turning of the eccentric, but would lit the parts tight; consequently, when the spring was forced back, there was great liability of the tearing out of the screws or the breakage of the spring; and, furthermore, there being no top and bottom holds or guard-s to the spring, it was liable to get out of place under the constant action of the eccentric.

To ,remedy these diiculties, I employ two crossribs or flanges f f, cast to the leaf, and situated respectively on opposite sides ofthe spring top and bottom.

At the front end are two ribs, g y, whose projection is just equal to the throw ofthe spring backward when the eccentric is turned.

The workman, in making his mortise in the wood,

is obliged to make it deep enough to receive these ribs, and hence there is always left sucient space for the play of the sp1-infr. Theyalso serve as guides to keep the spring in place, and, furthermore, serve as stili'eners to the casting, to prevent breakage. This device constitutes the second feature of my invention.

Iii-some cases, I contemplate making the bearing or socket for the spring in the form shown in fig. 4, that is, with a cross-piece, h, connecting the two side ribs, which incloses the end of the spring, and with an opening, in the other sideto lessen the weight of the casting. In this case, the spring rests in the bearing inclosed by the cross-piece, and may be secured by a rivet, or a small wood screw,or by any other desired means. There'. is a peculiarity also in the formationof the eye orl socket that fits upon the pintle. In the old form of the hinge the eye was entire or closed; in the present form, I cast it with a central bearing, 7c, on one side, and twe'sidebearings, 7c It', on the other, leaving the balance of the space open, as shown at mim. .This not only lessens the amount of metal, and the friction upon the pintle, but,

enables me to dispense with chills nd cores in casting, which is a, great desideratum.

Claims.

NVhat; I claim, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent as an improvement upon the patent of Selmer and Buffer, is

1.` 'lhe eccentric D,l constrncted'with the sharp edge b, as described, 'and employed in connection with I the spring O and pintle p, in the manner and for the purpose specified.

2. '.Lhe cross-ribs or anges fj; inclosing the spring C, either witgh or without the cross-bar h, tokeep il: in place,'ancl formed with projections to insure the free playof saidspring when fitted to the wood, as

described.

In testimony whereof', I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. ABRAHAM BUFFER. Witnesses 1 R. F. OsGooD, v G. WILLM. MIATT. 

